With a redesigned, lower weight head resulting in increased machining rigidity and higher positional accuracy, plus reduced acceleration stresses – the head provides additional support for the spindle, to absorb cutting forces and minimise deflection - the open-fronted Super-HCMC range also now features a redesigned and wider column base, again to ensure higher-performance stability under heavy cutting conditions.

All design changes are underpinned by Hartford’s regime of ensuring an ‘optimum force flow structure’ where machining forces are redirected to reduce vibration and therefore guarantee accuracy, in tandem with the company’s renowned construction regimes based on heavily ribbed cast iron. Finite element analysis is then applied to ensure optimum structural design and performance.

In combination with a spindle that utilises FAG bearings to deliver a run out of just 0.005 mm per 300 mm – and an innovative gearing design that permits both heavy-duty and light cutting - the result is a range of machines unrivalled for their ability for single set-up ‘done in one’ machining using both high removal rates as well as fine finishing routines.

With 15/26 kW main spindles, Super-HCMC machines can reach 10,000 revs/min, and traverse rate is 15-16 m/min in X, Y and Z. Tool capacity extends from 20 to 32.

The machines can be supplied with Fanuc, Heidenhain or Mitsubishi CNC systems, featuring:

- Short message sender – ensuring that users are immediately aware of any issues;
- Servo overload detection – to avoid potential collisions; and
- A thread milling macro for the production of wide pitch threads.